The whispers about Larry Borom first began at the start of training camp. Guys close to the Chicago Bears organization like Tom Thayer singled the 5th round rookie out as somebody who was impressing. Far more than expected. It got to a point that the Bears coaching staff was so confident in his development that they shifted him from his college position of right tackle over to left tackle. Early on they were validated in this decision.
Borom looked comfortable at that spot in the preseason. Then when Jason Peters got injured in the opener against Los Angeles, the rookie played well in his absence. Sadly his momentum was derailed when a freak accident led to a high ankle sprain. This caused him to miss the next six weeks of action. When he finally got cleared to return, the Bears wasted no time throwing him into the fire, starting him at right tackle against the San Francisco 49ers.
It felt somewhat negligent on their part.
However, the rookie played surprisingly well. He did give up a sack but only two pressures despite playing against star defensive end Nick Bosa. How in the world did he manage this despite only five practices to prepare? It turns out he was putting in some borderline obsessive work even before that to get himself ready. Sean Hammond of Shaw Media learned what exactly the rookie did.
“As soon as trainers cleared Larry Borom to walk on his sprained ankle, he began walking through his technique and his pass sets in his living room. It was slow motion, half speed, but it was all he could do.
The Bears rookie offensive tackle, a fifth-round draft pick out of Missouri, took videos of his work and sent them back to offensive line coach Juan Castillo for critique.”
This goes back to what people realized about Borom even before the Bears drafted him. He actually has a really strong work ethic. That became clear when teams discovered he’d dropped a significant amount of weight from the 350 lbs he played at for Missouri. It was clear he intended to get his body into proper shape and kept refining his techniques leading into the draft itself. That was a big reason the team was surprised he lasted until the 5th round.
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Larry Borom offers optimism for the Bears’ future
They already have growing excitement around two of their 2021 draft picks. Justin Fields continues to show increasing flashes of his playmaking potential at quarterback. Khalil Herbert has 344 yards rushing in the past four games against some pretty good defenses. Now Borom continues showing signs of credibility as a blocker. If he can continue developing into a legitimate starter? The Bears might be in business.
Especially if 2nd round pick Teven Jenkins can return from his back surgery as a viable option as well. That would give the team four potential offensive starters in one draft. Three of them at key positions. It would make life a lot easier for Ryan Pace or whoever the next GM is going into 2022. All they’d have to do is find a center and a couple of wide receivers and this offense might be in business. These final nine games could be huge for Larry Borom.
He won’t have much time to rest.
After dealing with Bosa last Sunday, he’ll get superstar Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt next. He has terrorized offenses all year and no doubt he is salivating at the thought of playing a rookie on Monday night. Borom will need to have that chin strap buckled and be ready for 60 minutes of war. He fancies himself a strong pass protector. This will be a perfect opportunity to prove it.